Movie Review: Prometheus

     If anyone was asked to list off their top five films they felt deserved a prequel, it’s very unlikely Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi/horror Alien would be featured. The film held its mysteries but that only added to the slowly unfolding horror as the audience as well as the characters could never get a firm grasp on just what was going on. Wouldn’t a prequel destroy the mystique of it all?

     Thirty-three years later and Scott has returned with the answers in his prequel that isn’t a prequel, Prometheus.

     I’ll be honest; when I first came out of the midnight screening I attended I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the film. Sure I enjoyed it – I enjoyed it a lot – but the whole thing seemed to sit awkwardly between wanting to be a full-blown Alien prequel and starting its own mythology, and it appeared notably hampered by this. It is with great afterthought I can happily report this film delivers on both fronts, though it can struggle to show it.

     In the year 2092, the exploratory vessel Prometheus lands on LV-223; a moon that is the focal point of numerous cave paintings and murals from ancient civilisations. Is it a simple star map, or an invitation to meet our creators? It is this divide of Science vs. Faith that drives the film and sets up many of its bigger ideas. On the one hand you have Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), a firm believer in God, and on the other, her scientific and romantic partner Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green); their constant bashing of heads over the divinity of the situation as they lead the Prometheus crew on the expedition personifies this ongoing struggle as more questions are added to the equation. Why were we created? Could we be just as easily destroyed? What right do we have to meet our creators? What are the consequences of wielding the tools of creation?

     While most of these questions remain profoundly ambient throughout, the answer to that final question is simply ‘catastrophic’. Coming across the ooze that can both birth and destroy life, the crew soon find out such toys should not be played with as strange mutations occur and a certain all-too-curious robot could spell doom for the entire crew.

     Ah yes, David. The film’s themes of creation come full circle as the created become the creators, as Weyland Industries places its most advanced android onboard the Prometheus. David is played by Michael Fassbender with a staggering coolness and distance; he is both loveable – his stoic attitude giving some of the best laughs of the movie – and terrifying, his true motives masked under an emotionless exterior. Is he helping the team or helping himself? Hints throughout suggest he may wish to prove himself by surpassing his human masters, violently, but maybe he is just trying to find himself amongst these humans? He is searching for his purpose as much as the human scientists are by trying to find their creators. He has a calm complexity to him, and that, along with Fassbender’s fantastic portrayal, makes him the standout character of the movie.

     It says a lot that an emotionless robot is the best character in the film. Truthfully, characters are Prometheus’ weakest point. For the most part, they are criminally underdeveloped and lack depth. Rapace’s Shaw and Idris Elba as Prometheus’ captain are two standouts alongside Fassbender, but the remaining cast are very two dimensional. Charlize Theron is great as the cold and calculating Vickers, but that’s all she is with no evolution of her character (kind of ironic considering the themes of the film); the same can be said for most of the supporting cast, while the rest are forgettable cannon fodder. This makes it hard to get emotionally invested in any of the ship’s crew as they start dropping like flies, leaving some of the more action-heavy or supposedly shocking scenes feeling a little hollow. That’s not saying the film fails in delivering thrills, however. There are some great action set pieces, and, while we’re not talking copious amounts of horror here, the film magnificently channels the intensity of Alien in a couple of scenes. One sequence in particular had me clawing into the fabric of my seat as it unfolded. You’ll know exactly which one I’m referring to when you see it.

     It’s at this point I should probably mention how goddamn beautiful this film is. Scott has always been one for fantastic cinematography, and this is him at the top of his game. The introduction and opening credits in particular are gorgeous and will blow you away – this is one of the few films I recommend going to see in 3D, it truly is an impressive, worthwhile experience. The first third of the film, as we are given slow panning shots of the Prometheus’ interior before the crew are awoken from hypersleep, feels like it is taken right from the beginning of the original Alien. The set designs later on in the film are also as epic and horrific in size and scope as they were 30 years ago. It is beautiful, suspenseful and eerie, creating something that fans of the franchise will feel right at home with.

     Prometheus is a film with big ideas and a competent story to keep them afloat, but there are times when it feels like it’s trying to tell more than one tale. The marketing seemed to strangely suggest that this was an Alien prequel but also something else entirely, and it was spot on. At times it can feel like an odd balance, the film feeling stuck in an awkward position between trying to set up the 1979 movie while also attempting to launch its own ideas. Like I said earlier, I came out of the cinema feeling unsure as to whether I had watched a good film or not because of this. That may sound like a weird feeling to have, but it’s true – I knew I had enjoyed the film, but upon first watching it seemed to be telling two entirely different stories and it was hard to comprehend what I’d just watched. It’s a testament to how thought provoking the film can be that after thinking it through, my opinion shifted from “this is a really good film” to “this is a really great film”.

     I suppose that’s the best way to define Prometheus. It is a film that on the surface can feel confounding and heavy handed, but its big ideas, thrilling set pieces and brooding intensity more than make up for any shortcomings it suffers from. Go into the cinema with an open mind, and you’ll be taken on a journey you’re not likely to forget anytime soon.

Rating: 4 / 5